Business Insider Ranks The 50 U.S. State Economies

In Business Insider's new ranking of state economies, which weighs such variables as unemployment rate, average annual wages, GDP per capita and state finances, Montana ranks 28th. Find out why.

North Dakota came out on top, thanks to the oil boom in recent years which has boosted jobs and created the lowest unemployment rate amongst all 50 states. Montana came in right behind South Dakota (tied at #28 with Maryland). Business Insider stated,

Montana is a big wide-open place, and agriculture is still the state's largest industry. Average annual wages were just $37,575, the fourth-lowest in the country. Similarly, per-capita Gross Domestic Product was $39,250, well below the $49,642 per-capita GDP of the United States as a whole